Pathfinder 1E Paizo's RPG SuperSTAR Contest Top 32

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I also agree with Justin. The mechanics of the winning entries are very bland, but the style of the items are so cool. Aside from the item that blanked out a portion of an area effect spell (I think it was a BlindedSpot something) there was nothing else "wondrous". Wasn't there a cat of some sort spat in the entries as well????

I am remaining anonymous throughout this discussion, but I've already had communications with a few developers who feel it was a big marketing ploy. How do they actually know whether these people can write a module - unless of course, they just team the person up with Nick Logue or someone. (No, I'm not Nick).

I'm pretty sure there's only a handful of pros that use four question marks at the end of a sentence or put their quotation marks inside their periods. If your goal was to harm your ability to find work, I'm sure you'll succeed just fine.

If you think this sort of thing was fine, why take a dump on the contest in public at all?

 

[JoshuaFrost]

I am remaining anonymous throughout this discussion, but I've already had communications with a few developers who feel it was a big marketing ploy. How do they actually know whether these people can write a module - unless of course, they just team the person up with Nick Logue or someone. (No, I'm not Nick).

I'll bite, Mr. Anonymous.

How did we know, when doing Dragon and Dungeon, that a submission idea that was good enough to make it to the "ok, now write us that adventure" phase was going to turn out to be a good adventure? We didn't. We had to base our assumption on their writing sample (IE, their submission) and their ability to follow our guidelines and instructions. Sometimes the final adventures were not so good -- sometimes they were very good.

By the end, we'll have one writer who passed many phases designed to test writing and critical design skills, encounter plotting, and description. It's a process quite a bit more grueling than our old way of handling submissions for the magazines and a process, I think, that helps keep our writing pond filled with new fish.

As for this being a marketing ploy: if we can help ourselves by finding the "next great module writer" and promote our company and our products at the same time, who's going to fault us? "It was a big marketing ploy" is rather disrespectful of what we're trying to do -- its dismissive and coy and stinks of the sourest of grapes. Besides, I'm the evil corporate stooge in charge of telling you guys about Paizo's products and it wasn't my idea.

 

[Erik Mona]

The first test was a wondrous item because it's the shortest and easiest game element to write that allows us to judge whether or not the entrant can wow us in as small a package as possible. We received 856 submissions and commented on every single one, a process that took about a month of after hours sessions by three very busy publishers, all in their free time. The entries gave writers the opportunity to work fast within a short word budget, and to manage to impress us as the same time.

The country entry is a pure fluff test to help us evaluate whether the folks who can wow us when we give them a little more rope. While we were generally more focused on the "cool factor" for round 1, the judging is now up to the general public, and I think they will bring their own standards to the contest. It should be interesting to watch.

Putting the encounter design test up front would have vastly limited the number of participants, and we would have rejected even more of them on technicalities that the authors found unfair or inscrutable. So we started with something short and easy, and each task gets progressively more difficult.

As for the knock on the cat in a box, there is a thread on paizo.com where readers have posted their top 5 items, and that item appears on many of the lists. So I submit that the judges do at least have some idea of what they're doing.

--Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

For the record, I don't begrudge Paizo the contest or even the results. The charge of it being a "marketing ploy" is an odd one; of course, it's a marketing ploy. I have a very specific "complaint", which is that the judges seem to have discounted the actual writing part quite a bit. This doesn't irk me as an entrant; it irks me as a designer/publisher/writer.

I'm pretty sure there's only a handful of pros that use four question marks at the end of a sentence or put their quotation marks inside their periods.

FYI, this is the British method and is growing in acceptance. I use it myself. The American style is a holdover from the requirements of old-time printing presses.

 

[Black_Swan]

Man I love it when professionals get all heated.

Don't hate me...but when the claws come out I reach for the popcorn.

 

[Erik Mona]

SNIKT.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

FYI, this is the British method and is growing in acceptance.

I work in a newsroom. They take the left thumb the first time you do it, then the right, then they move on to things I'd miss even more.

 

[Roger]

I've already had communications with a few developers who feel it was a big marketing ploy.

Is this supposed to be a big revelation of a sinister conspiracy or something?

Of course it's marketing. And it's some pretty good marketing, as far as I can tell.



Cheers,
Roger

 

[JoshuaFrost]

SNIKT.

HULK SMASH.

 

[Wik]

Yeah, I was a little bummed when my own item got the kick (it was an anklet that Varisian women would wear, and allowed a bard to dance and take actions at the same time), but looking at what won, I realized just why - it's just a different idea of what's "cool" and good.

Or, to put it simply - my idea just didn't catch anyone's eye the first time they looked at it, and no one looked at it again.

That being said, I'm not going to go into "trash talk mode", which is something that seems to be happening a lot over on the Paizo boards. Instead, I'll keep what I learned in mind, and next time, I'll post something a bit darker. And, of course, keep an eye on the competitors. Clinton Boomer (of PHB PSA fame) is one of the 32, which I thought was sort of neat.

My only big "miff" with everything is that the judges don't post their comments for everyone. I kind of wish they'd do that, or at least e-mail the entrants the comments. I'd love to see exactly why my Anklet didn't make the cut.

Geez, I have a hundred ideas for next time. I'm looking forward to Paizo's next contest, truth be told.